A study which shows the introduction of minimum unit pricing (MUP) for alcohol since 2018 has reduced alcohol-related deaths and hospitalisations in some of Scotland's poorest areas has been shortlisted as Project of the Year in the Times Higher Education Awards.

Photo of various alcoholic drinks

"Evaluating the impact of alcohol minimum unit pricing on deaths and hospitalisations in Scotland: a controlled interrupted time series study" is co-authored by SHW's Jim Lewsey, Danny Mackay and Mark Robinson in collaboration with Public Health Scotland (lead author Grant Wyper).

The study shows:

-->13.4% reduction in alcohol deaths
-->4.1% reduction in alcohol-related hospitalisations

It concluded:

"The greatest improvements were in the four most socioeconomically deprived deciles, indicating that the policy is positively tackling deprivation-based inequalities in alcohol-attributable health harm."

The awards evening will take place on 01 June 2023 at the Radisson Blu hotel in Glasgow.

Read the paper

Access comments by Sarah Callinan and Amy Pennay on this work, published in the Lancet in March 2023


First published: 10 May 2023